From -wheeler- Sent Thu, Jun 18th 1998, 19:01
Since some people on this list have shown an extensive knowledge on minidiscs in the past I thought I'd pose these two questions that I've been pondering about: Query 1 The cost of blank minidiscs in UK varies considerably. I've found the cheapest non-bulk place to purchase them is in the many Richer Sounds outlets. They have the well-known brands such as Sony, Maxell, TDK etc. which are 3 quid. I've seen professional standard blank ones for a lot more. But they also have ones by a Japanese Brand called Kao and these cost just 2 quid (all 74 min. discs BTW). Does the quality of the disc have any bearing on the quality of sound? With a digital recording isn't the data either 'present' or 'absent' rather than stored in a way that allows qualitative differences (ie. tape quality matters a lot)? Query 2 Here is the theoretical situation: I get a sample direct from a CD and I also get a sample from a minidisc and, for the sake of argument, cannot tell the difference between them. I then use various filters and manipulations within a sample editor. Are the samples going to sound the same at the end? In other words, does the missing information from the minidisc sample (initially unapparent to my ears) become apparent to my ears when you muck about with the sample? Just curious. Cheers, Nick